Whistling Takes Practice and So Do Relationships
by ThisPerson1
Summary: Shiki can't whistle. After a comment made by Mr. H, Beat actually figuring something out, and a trip to Udagawa Neku decides to teach her. Soon after they decide to start a relationship. How well will that turn out? Rated T simply because I was unsure whether or not kissing was considered an adult theme.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Been a while since I've typed anything. This is my first TWEWY fanfiction, but it probably won't be my last. **

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It had been four weeks since the Reapers' Game, and while Neku couldn't be happier that he was finally out of that nightmare, he had to admit that going back to the ordinary humdrum of everyday life was rather boring. At least now he had friends to make things a little more exciting. Ever since coming back, they've been meeting up at Hachiko and spending the entire day together. Neku had to agree with Shiki, friends are needed. Before the Game, he would've spent all his time brooding and hating people, but now he was opening up a little more every day. With Beat and his antics, Rhyme and her surprising wisdom and Shiki and her fashion sense, Neku could feel himself becoming more social and was starting to loosen up. It was like he was a whole new person. Of course, he still held onto a few things. He still wore his headphones-they cost him too much to just leave on the street-but wasn't always using them to block out others, he still wore his usual attire despite Shiki being against his 'fashion statement', and he still couldn't quite forgive Joshua for shooting him twice.

Other than these, a lot of his personality has changed. Perhaps the biggest change was his feelings towards Shiki. When he first met her he found her rather annoying, but lately he's been feeling a little flustered around her. He had a pretty good idea why, but he wasn't certain how to handle it. He couldn't ask Beat, for obvious reasons, Rhyme was too young and asking Shiki would be stupid. He thought about going to Mr. H for some advice but decided against it. He'd most likely give him some oddball response that made little to no sense. So that left Neku to deal with his own problems. Currently, he was walking through the ever busy scramble crossing in deep thought. _"I guess friends aren't helpful for everything." _He thought as he moved past a small group of people. _"Oh well. I can do just as well on my own. There's no hiding that I like Shiki. The question is how to tell her. No wait, how do I know if she likes me? I can't ask her, that's suicide. I wonder if I could ask Eri." _He pondered that for a moment. After visualizing every situation that would probably end with her giggling at him and Shiki finding out he shook his head. "Okay. Bad idea." Sighing, he sunk his head into his collar and kept walking. He was about to head to Dogenzaka when his phone beeped. Pulling it out of his pocket he read the text from Shiki.

**_We're at WildKat. R u coming?_**

Smiling slightly, he typed out a reply.

**_Yeah. On my way._**

As soon as he walked inside he was met with Beat's laughter and Shiki's red face. Rhyme was trying to calm her brother down and Mr. H was cleaning the counter with a smirk. "What's going on here? Why is Shiki's face redder than a tomato?" Although he'd never admit it, Neku found Shiki even cuter when she blushed. His lips curled upwards when she somehow turned redder. Maybe he had spent too much time around Joshua, but he enjoyed teasing Shiki simply to see her reactions. Of course, he never pissed her off, but maybe she simply couldn't get pissed at him. He blushed a little at the thought. Good thing for his collar.

"S-she can't..." Beat trailed off, trying to compose himself from laughing so hard. When he finally caught his breath he continued. "She can't whistle, yo!"

"It's not that funny! Neku, tell him to stop laughing." Shiki was sitting across from Beat and Rhyme with her arms crossed, clearly unhappy with Beat's teasing.

"That's why he was laughing like a lunatic? It isn't that funny." Neku sat next to her and she gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you. It's nice for someone to be a good friend."

"But that doesn't mean it's not funny at all."

"Neku!"

"Oh c'mon. Everyone knows how to whistle."

"Well... I'm not very good at it." She twirled a lock of hair while staring down at her lap. Neku had to smile at her.

"Don't worry, whistling is easy. Anyone can learn how." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time. You learn things fast." Rhyme's encouraging statement and Neku's support cheered Shiki up. Until Mr. H decided to comment, that is.

"Yup. And you could teach her, Phones." He laughed and then continued cleaning. Neku and Shiki, on the other hand, stopped smiling and looked at each other. What was that supposed to mean? Neku's frown deepened when he realized what Mr. H might've been getting at. He hid his face in his shirt to hide the blush that was creeping up his face from both the comment and what he was thinking. This didn't go unnoticed by Shiki.

"Neku? What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine." He looked away hoping that she would drop it. He couldn't keep saying 'nothing', but he also couldn't tell what ideas had been running through his mind just seconds ago. Fortunately for him, she stopped asking. Unfortunately for both of them, Beat figured out what Mr. H's words had implied.

"Wait a sec, yo. I think I get it. Ha! You oughta give her a few lessons, Phones. I'm sure you a great teacher. Bet you'd enjoy it too." Beat snickered at himself and now Neku was the one blushing.

_"Darn it, Beat. You just had to pick now to use your brains. Arrrgghh." _"I don't know what you're talking about." He decided to play it cool and act like the worst moment of his life wasn't happening.

"Don't know, or don't want to?" Beat continued laughing while Neku cursed him for actually figuring something out. Rhyme had caught on not long after the comment was made, but just pretended not to understand seeing as how Beat wasn't sparing Neku the embarrassment. Shiki had gotten it, sort of. She hadn't really heard what Beat said because she was thinking of something else. His obnoxious laughter had snapped her out of her daydreams and by the time she registered the scene in front of her Neku was already leaving.

"Sometimes I wonder why we didn't let you fight that shark Noise," was his grumbling goodbye as he left the cafe.

"Huh? Guys what happened? Why'd Neku leave like that? What did you say Beat?" Shiki looked at the older Bito sibling and could tell she wasn't going to get an answer from him, so she looked to the younger.

"He said, um,_ implied_ that-"

"He said the truth. Now if you want some answers you'd better catch up to him." Mr. H took a sip of coffee while Shiki got up and went after Neku, leaving Rhyme to deal with Beat.

Neku was sulking his way to Udagawa. He was already a ways from the cafe since he was walking fast when he first left, but now he had slowed. He needed somewhere quiet to reflect and figure out what to do. Everything had been just fine until Mr. H had said what he did. After that it all went downhill. He just couldn't get a break, could he? First it was Joshua that had messed with him, and now it was fate. Wasn't life (and afterlife) just grand? He was almost to Udagawa. A little further and he could stand in front of CAT's mural and marvel at its inspirational message. Forget about what had just happened. He stopped. Mr. H was CAT, and he had just...

Neku groaned. He was standing in the middle of Shibu-Q Heads with no idea of what he should do. He couldn't just tell Shiki how he felt. He had no clue how to say that without screwing up and he wasn't too keen on another embarrassing moment happening. Well still, maybe heading to the mural would help him figure something out. At least it would be quieter. Neku couldn't get any thinking done with tons of people rambling about The Prince or clothes or some rumor they had heard about this one clerk-it was too much. So he stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept walking, completely unaware that Shiki was following him.

When he reached his destination he sat down on the steps a little ways from the mural, head resting on his knees. "Neku." He gasped at the sudden voice. The place had been empty save for him.

"Oh. It's just you. How'd you find me so fast?" He stretched his legs out and leaned back on his arms while she came over and sat next to him in the same position.

"Easy. You always come here when you're in a bad mood." He nodded in response. "Um... about what Mr. H said..."

_"Oh no, here it comes."_ He mentally braced himself for the worst.

"Do you think... um, you know what? Never mind." She immediately looked in the opposite direction. Neku's brows furrowed. What was she going to say that got her so flustered?

"Do I think what?"

She started waving her arms frantically and blushing, a nervous habit Neku grew used to seeing on Eri's body, but didn't at all mind seeing on Shiki's. "N-nothing! It's nothing! Don't even worry about it. Forget I said anything." She tried to brush it off, but with the way she was going it seemed more like she was trying to smack it off.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing!" She confirmed. Oh, it was something alright. Neku intended to find out. The way she was acting had gotten him curious, not to mention he found it rather cute.

"If it was nothing why are you so panicky? You only do that when you're nervous."

"No... I just... felt it was a little hot. So I waved to cool myself off." Neku smirked. It was 72 degrees Fahrenheit out, and she was hot? Yeah right.

"C'mon Shiki. Just tell me. I won't laugh at you or anything." He nudged her arm with his elbow and she sighed.

"...Fine. I'll tell you. What Mr. H said... do you think you would?" She turned red and sat up. Neku internally sighed. So that was where this had been going. Still, he didn't mind teaching her if it meant he got to spend more time with her.

"Yeah. I can teach you how to whistle. It really isn't that hard. Look." To show her he whistled a little tune. Shiki just stared at him. "What?"

"You don't get it, do you?" He frowned. He knew exactly what Mr. H and Beat had implied, but surely Shiki couldn't have meant the same thing... could she? He'd be glad if she did but it was unlikely. She wasn't really like that. Or was she? After all, she had made him strip for a loose button, and anyone with a sane mind wouldn't go that far for something as stupid as that. Unless... it _wasn't _for the button. Neku shook his head. That was too long ago to matter and besides, he hadn't even liked her back then. Or was that because she was in Eri's body at the time?

"Earth to Neku!"

"Huh?!" Shiki's shout had snapped him out of daze. He sat upright and gave her his full attention.

"I said that maybe you could give me a few lessons on how to whistle. I can't really get my lips right." Neku's heart skipped a beat. So the conversation _was_ leading to this. He grinned.

"Well, whistling takes practice you know."

"I know. With my lack of skills I'm sure it'll take a lot of it."

"We could... start now. If you want to, that is." He rubbed his shoulder while waiting for her response.

"Only if you want to," was the rushed reply.

"O-okay."

"Then sure." Both of them looked at each other, not wanting to be the one to start. Neku eventually faced her and leaned over, and Shiki soon followed. Their lips met and suddenly Neku couldn't care if Eri, Beat or even Joshua appeared and made fun of them. This was too perfect. Acting on impulse he deepened the kiss and wondered briefly if she would mind. Her arms wrapping around his neck told him otherwise, and he returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her waist. He sighed. This day couldn't have gone better. Eventually they broke apart for air, both of their faces red.

"Shiki?"

"T-that was nice."

"Yeah." The two of them were quite comfortable in each other's arms, just gazing into the other one's eyes. Neku smiled. "So... you think you need another example?"

"I think you should be a little more specific." They kissed again, and Neku was now happy that Mr. H had said that. The worst day of his life had somehow turned into the best. Fate apparently decided to change its mind on tormenting Neku and he could enjoy this moment with everything he had. Was it ironic how they were right in front of CAT's mural?

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**A/N: Please review and tell me what you thought about this. I'm thinking about writing more. I hope you enjoyed this.**


	2. Chapter 2

The few minutes Neku spent 'teaching' Shiki how to whistle were absolutely amazing to him. Eventually they stopped and Shiki leaned against his side. "Y'know something, Neku?"

"Hm?"

"This isn't how I expected our first kiss to be." She giggled, then stopped when she saw the look on his face. "N-not that I didn't like it or anything! It's just... I don't know. I just pictured it differently."

"I'm not mad at you or anything. How'd you imagine it?"

"Well, one of those ones you'd have after a romantic dinner or something. Just a fantasy, I guess." Neku smirked after hearing that.

"We could always make that a reality. How about it?" Shiki suddenly blushed but smiled brightly.

"Oh Neku! I didn't know you could be so romantic. Or that you'd be willing to do that."

"We could go to Ramen Don. It's usually pretty empty this time of day. Maybe we could hang at my place afterwards?" He trailed off at the end and blushed a bit because he felt like he was rushing things. Shiki quietly gasped and looked up at Neku.

"O-oh. I'd love to. Do you have any movies? We could watch a bunch and... well, I don't know, but we'd be hanging out together at least." She was really flattered and happy that he'd do that. For as long as they'd been back, he had never invited anyone to his place, let alone mention it. Shiki felt honored that she was the first. Neku looked at her and smiled before taking her hand and helping her up.

"Let's go then." They walked side by side to Ramen Don, the gang's favorite ramen place. When they stepped inside, it was empty except for them. This was absolutely perfect. Ken Doi soon appeared and took their orders before disappearing in the kitchen.

"This is really nice of you, Neku. I can't believe this is actually happening. I mean..." Neku just laughed, because he was feeling the same way. Never in a million years had he thought he'd be going on a date with Shiki and yet, here they were having dinner together, enjoying each other's company, with Joshua serving them their food.

"Joshua?!" Neku was shocked to see the ashen haired teen standing next to their table holding two bowls of ramen and wearing his teasing smirk.

"Neku. Long time no see."

"More like long time no shoot." He grumbled. Joshua set down the bowls and placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

"Is that any way to greet your former partner, especially after everything I've done for you?"

"Yes." Josh pulled a chair up to the end of their table and sat in it backwards, resting his arms and chin on the back of it. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't hard to hear the venom in Neku's voice. The response he got was a giggle, and that pushed him another step closer to losing it. "You just love to annoy people, don't you?"

"Aww, Neku. I only came here for something to eat. Being the Composer can really work up an appetite, you know. Personally, I don't really like cooking, and since there's no one who can do it for me I come here. It's quiet and I really enjoy the food. I was expecting it to be just me here, but clearly I was mistaken." He giggled again and Neku narrowed his eyes. He knew Joshua was lying. He had to be. He'd been here on his own before when it wasn't busy and had never seen him anywhere, and he was hard to miss.

"Bull. Now why are you really here?"

"I just told you why. Now what about you? I've never seen you here alone with Shiki." He directed his gaze towards her and she sank down in her seat some, not really wanting to be part of the conversation. And his stare was rather piercing. She had had a brief moment of 'who the heck is this?' when she first saw him but soon remembered who and what he was once him and Neku started going back and forth.

"It's none of your business, Josh. Now get lost so we can eat." Joshua returned his attention to Neku who took his bowl and angrily grabbed a clump of noodles before shoving them into his mouth, all the while giving the other a death glare. (Not that it would do anything since he's already dead.)

He pouted. "There's no reason to be so harsh. If anyone's going to be upset, it should be me. After all, my dear, dear proxy never told me he had a girlfriend." Joshua smirked at Neku's face. It was a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Amusing, to say the least. Shiki had blushed a bit at the word girlfriend. Sure, they had kissed and yeah they were having dinner together before heading over to Neku's to watch movies, but neither of them had ever called it official. Well... maybe it didn't need any calling. Slowly, she started to eat her own lukewarm food as an _extremely _uncomfortable silence surrounded them. None of them said a word but Joshua continued to stare down Neku, simply because he knew it was pissing him off. Once Neku had finished eating Josh spoke.

"My, my. Such violent thoughts, Neku. Who would've guessed?" Shiki stopped eating for a moment. She had no way to tell what was really going on in Neku's head, but judging by the murderous look he shot Joshua it most likely involved him stabbing the other with his chopsticks. She shook her head and finished eating. Boys.

"You are such an ass." **(A/N:Only bad word that will be in here.)**

"Do you treat all your friends this way? If so, I can't imagine how you became friends in the first place."

"Look. I really don't feel like dealing with you right now. So-"

"Perhaps later then?"

"Rrrghh!"

"Guys!" Both turned to look at Shiki, whose sudden outburst had surprised them. "Let's just go, Neku." She then looked to Joshua with the friendliest smile she could manage at the moment. "It was nice seeing you again, Joshua."

"No, it wasn't." Before Neku could say anymore, she got up and grabbed his arm, leading him to the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Joshua now blocked their path, which was odd because he hadn't been there a second ago. The owner didn't seem to notice the teleportation of a boy, which didn't surprise them.

"Move." Neku growled.

"I was just wondering where you were going." That same 'I know more than you' arrogant smirk was on his face, and it annoyed the crap out of Neku.

"None of your freaking business. Why would we tell you?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Hardly."

"That's not what I'd heard." Josh said while brushing some hair out of his face. He knew that Neku was ready to punch him, and he had every right to, (didn't mean he wouldn't get a vending machine dropped on him for it though) but he just wanted to see his limits.

"You actually heard-"

"Your mental invitation to join you and the others? Of course." Neku's face switched briefly from anger to surprise, but then switched back. Joshua was messing with him because he wanted to, and if he hadn't been alone with Shiki he would've ignored the guy, but now that he was on a date he wasn't gonna let the snotty brat ruin it.

"Let's go, Shiki." He pushed past Josh and walked out onto the sidewalk before stopping and turning to face him with perhaps the most wicked grin plastered on his face. If Josh was gonna push his buttons, then he was gonna punch his. "See you around... _Yoshi_." He left immediately after that, not even bothering to look at the other's face. He already knew exactly what it looked like.

In no time were they already heading towards Neku's apartment. Shiki lightly tugged back on his arm to get him to slow down a little. "Why are you walking so fast? What's your rush?"

"Sorry. I just wanted to be sure he wasn't following us or something. We can slow down now, but we've still got a little ways to go." They both walked in silence, each unsure of how to start a conversation.

"Hey Neku?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" He turned his head to Shiki with a bewildered look.

"For not losing your cool and yelling at Joshua or starting a fight. It was really sweet of you to do that for me. I know how much you wanted to punch his face in." He smiled.

"No problem. I just didn't want to ruin your time."

"Don't worry. You definitely weren't the problem." She kissed him on the cheek and held his hand as they walked on.

Joshua stood there looking absolutely infuriated. Normally, he never got worked up over anything and kept a calm demeanor. But this? This was going too far. A simple jab at him? Whatever. Something hadn't gone as planned? He could deal with it. A harsh insult? Tolerable. Especially since most of those came from subordinates or RG people who had no clue who he was. But crossing the line and stepping into his personal boundaries? No, no, no. You just simply didn't do that. Everyone, regardless of their importance to him, were told to call him Joshua, and for good reason. He didn't like his real name. It wasn't so much that sometimes other people had a hard time saying it and just said 'hey, you', it was because of that nickname. That aggravating nickname that people started calling him because it was easier to say and they found it rather funny. Joshua was _not _to be laughed at. So he suggested a different name to his parents, which they didn't bother arguing about. He wouldn't have changed his mind anyway. Since then, virtually no one has called him by his real name nor have they ever used Yoshi. The fact that Neku just did really ticked him off. It wasn't funny, not even Mr. H called him that as a joke.

He decided to head back to the Room of Reckoning so he could think of all the different ways he could get back at Neku that didn't involve shooting him but would be just as satisfactory in peace and quiet. He didn't even get halfway there when he thought of the perfect way to get revenge. Smiling dangerously, he continued on.

"You're really going to get it, Neku."

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**A/N:Well, as usual, please review. Next chapter may take a couple of days or it might go up on the weekend, I'll try to get it done as quickly as possible.**


	3. Chapter 3

They finally made it to Neku's apartment after a long walk. _"No wonder he's so skinny," _Shiki thought. _"Having to walk this far would be some serious exercise for anyone." _Neku opened the door and led the way to his living room.

"My parents are working late so we've got the place to ourselves for a little while. Um... just make yourself at home. I'll go grab some movies." He left the room and Shiki sat down on the couch and looked around. It was nothing much but it still had a nice homey feel to it. The couch she was on was across from a small coffee table and there was an average sized TV past that. There were pictures on the walls and a fake plant over in a corner.

Neku came back in with eight movies. "Okay. I've got a couple of comedies, some scary movies and the Samurai Ninja trilogy."

"Doesn't Samurai Ninja count as a comedy?"

"Well, yeah, but... it's still it's own category." He chuckled and she smiled. She was going to suggest one of the comedies but suddenly changed her mind and picked a horror movie. He quirked a brow at her choice but went over to put the disc in the player anyway. He was about to press the CLOSE button when she stopped him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Shiki looked at him as if that would get him to understand. He didn't say anything and she shook her head, grinning. "Do you have any popcorn? What's a movie without popcorn?"

"Oh! I didn't even think about it." He headed into the kitchen and she followed. He pulled out a pot and a bag of kernels. He poured a little olive oil in the pot, set it on the stove and dumped in some of the kernels.

"Y'know, if you make your own popcorn why don't you just buy a popcorn maker?" Shiki had been leaning on the counter watching him.

"We had one, but it broke."

"How?"

"Don't ask." She giggled. It didn't take long for the popcorn to finish. Neku grabbed a large bowl from one of the cabinets and dumped all the popcorn in it. Shiki grabbed the bowl and went to go back into the living room only to be stopped by Neku.

"What?"

"Aren't _you _forgetting something? What's popcorn without butter?" He brought the bowl back to the counter before getting a stick of butter and a measuring cup. Shiki watched in horror as he dropped the entire stick in and placed the cup in the microwave.

"Oh my gosh, Neku! Not so much! That's ridiculously unhealthy." He smirked at her expression.

"A little butter won't kill you."

"That is not a little butter. That is so much it's fattening." She crossed her arms.

"Oh come on, Shiki. I could definitely use it, and it's not like you're fat so what do you have to worry about?" She blushed and smiled shyly.

"Aw, Neku. Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Oh. U-uhm... i-it could be taken as one, I guess." The microwave beeped and he pulled out the cup with a small smile of his own. "So does that mean I can use all this?"

"*Sigh* Alright. I suppose it's okay." She was still smiling when she said this. She couldn't get mad at him, especially since he just complimented her. Most people would've taken his comment as a snippy remark, but most people didn't know Neku. He had his own way of doing things.

The two of them headed back into the living room to watch the movie. Even though she had no idea why she chose a horror movie, Shiki was suddenly glad that she did. Now she could use being afraid as an excuse to snuggle into Neku. It was a brilliant idea, really.

_"Now, if only you were the one who thought of it, dear." _Such were the thoughts of a bored Composer currently perched on a telephone pole near the apartment, in the UG of course. Joshua had decided to get his revenge on Neku as soon as he could. Seeing as how Neku and Shiki's little date was still going on, he felt that now would be a good time to start. He planned to humiliate and annoy the two of them as much as possible, and what better way to do that than ruin the moment? Of course, for that to work there'd have to _be _a moment. Movies were a good way to start one. More specifically, scary movies. He hoped that they'd actually make it easy for him, but as soon as Shiki thought about watching a comedy he wanted to facepalm. So he imprinted the idea of a horror movie along with the fear excuse. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to do anymore. He was already pushing his luck by interfering with their business, and if that wouldn't get him in a spot of trouble then carelessly imprinting would. After all, he did have some rules-which he felt were stupid and he usually bent (if not broke) them anyway-that he had to at least acknowledge.

Giving Shiki a quick scan Joshua was glad to find that she was already frightened. He smirked. Five minutes in and she was practically quaking. _"Shouldn't be too much longer now. Although it doesn't seem like Neku's the least bit frightened. Not really a surprise. He's seen far worse." _Joshua continued to wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Shiki had already huddled close to Neku after the first sign of blood appeared on the screen. He seemed unfazed by the movie, but not so much when Shiki had begun holding onto to him for dear life. He was blushing a bit, but he didn't really care. What he did care about was how scared she was. "You sure you wanna watch this? We can put in something else."

"No. I'll be just fine." Neku raised an eyebrow. She seemed far from fine to him.

"You sure? You're shivering."

"I'm um... cold."

"Yeah, from fear. The only reason you keep denying that is because you want to keep snuggling into me." She looked up at him, surprised. He met her gaze with a small, but genuine, smile. "And the only reason I'm not getting up to change the movie is because I'm too comfortable." He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest. They continued to watch the movie-Neku did anyway-and two long hours and a big bowl of popcorn later it was finished. Neither one of them bothered to move, even after the movie went back to the title screen. Instead, Neku turned off the DVD player and looked at Shiki.

"What?"

"I'm surprised you didn't want to stop the movie." The look on his face told her he wanted to say something more.

"Neku? What is it?" She looked a little worried, so he asked her what he had been wanting to.

"Am I... doing this whole relationship thing right?" He directed his gaze toward the table while he waited for her answer.

"N-Neku... Of course you are! Why would you think you weren't?"

"Just wondering. I am new to this." He looked back at her when she put a hand on his face.

"You've been an amazing friend and boyfriend. You know that, don't you?" She smiled at him and he returned it.

"I do now. Thanks to my amazing girlfriend." They leaned and just as they were about to kiss something stopped them. Or _someone _rather.

"Enjoy the movie?" They froze. Then Neku groaned. He knew that voice anywhere.

"Joshua."

"Yes?" Joshua knew he was grating Neku's nerves. It wouldn't take much to get him to snap.

"Don't act all innocent! We all know you're far from it. Now what the heck are you doing in my apartment?" Neku glared at him suspiciously while Shiki just moved to the other side of the couch and kept an eye on him as well.

"Can't I just drop in to visit a friend? To say 'hello'?"

"No, you can't. You're here to harass me aren't you?"

"If by 'harass', you mean make your life miserable, then yes I am." He gave one of his signature smirks. Before Neku could reply he cut him off. "You're wondering why." It wasn't a question. "You know exactly why though. I'll leave you alone... eventually. But first I'd like to have a little fun, hee hee." Neku wanted to do nothing more than punch that smug look off his face. But he wasn't going too. It was what Joshua wanted-an overreaction from him-and he didn't want to blow up in front of Shiki.

"I'm not falling for your tricks, Josh. Now leave us alone." Neku sent him a threatening look but he just ignored it.

"Fine. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone... for now." He said the last part ominously before vanishing.

"He's such a pain in the-"

"Hey Neku?" He stopped grumbling and looked over at Shiki, who seemed worried about something.

"What's wrong?"

"Should we tell the others... about our relationship?" It was at that point Neku realized that they had more to worry about than Joshua.

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**A/N: Finally got this up. Sorry about the wait.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry about the really long wait. Way too much going on right now.**

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"Maybe we just shouldn't tell them."

"They're our friends, Neku. How can we not tell them?"

"Easy. We just act normal around them and keep our mouths shut." Neku and Shiki were still at Neku's apartment only now they were trying to figure out how to tell the others about their relationship. Well, trying to decide if they should anyway.

"But we always hang out with them. We'd have to be in a secluded spot just to talk about dates. They'll find out eventually." Neku sighed. She had a point. His plan might work for a little while but sooner or later the others would find out and he knew that wouldn't go well.

"...You're right. We'll tell them. But maybe we should wait and make sure Beat doesn't have anymore moments of inspiration."

"Oh alright. Anyway, it's getting pretty late so I'm gonna head back home. Thanks for everything." She got up and started towards the door.

"No problem. Do you want me to walk you back home?"

"It's fine. Besides, I thought you didn't want anyone else to see us."

"Oh, um, right. So... we're gonna tell them tomorrow?"

"Yeah, why not. I'll see you then. Bye Neku."

"Bye." She walked out and he waved before closing the door and flopping on the couch with a sigh. "I just know that Joshua is going to ruin this for us."

"You're darn right I am." Neku jumped slightly and looked to his left to see Joshua sitting on the other end of the couch idly flipping his phone open and shut.

"...I thought you left." The other boy smiled before turning to answer him.

"Maybe I never left at all." If one cold roll their eyes out of their sockets Neku would've done just that. If Josh never left in the first place then that meant he had been watching them from the UG the entire time. Both were silent for a bit, the only sound was the beeping from Josh's phone as he pressed buttons. Neku briefly wondered if he was somehow programming tomorrow to absolutely suck for him and then wondered if he could actually do that. "You're awfully quiet, Neku dear."

"Joshua. How many times do I have to tell you to stop. Calling. Me dear?"

"As many times as you think it'll take to work. _Dear._" Neku inwardly sighed.

"What do you want now? Haven't you harassed me enough?" He was seriously resisting the urge to try and strangle the young Composer. Well, he assumed that Joshua was young. Then again, he was dead so he wouldn't age.

"You do realize that harassing you means making your life miserable, right? Now, unless you don't want to, you'll live for a pretty decent amount of time which means I've got plenty of opportunities to torture you."

"Hey Josh. Just how old are you?" Neku lazily looked over at him. He knew that he couldn't get the other to leave the way he wanted to (which may or may not have involved him being flung off the roof) so he tried a different approach.

"Hm? What's this now?"

"I was just wondering how old you were."

"Why? It's none of your business."

"Oh. I get it." He left it at that. His week with Joshua taught him that if he wanted to get answers, he'd have to give him a taste of his own medicine. Which basically meant either snapping back at him or being just as mysterious as he was.

"Get what, Neku?"

"Why should you care?" He said, shrugging. "It's not your business."

"It _is _my business." He sounded a little angry this time.

"I was just wondering because... well... how can I put this? Oh! I know. Most old people have nothing better to do other than complain and be an aggravation like you are." Neku glanced over at him only to receive the dirty look sent his way. "What? I say something wrong?" The look stayed for a few more seconds before Joshua returned to his usual arrogant smirk.

"You're only making things worse for yourself." He stood up. "You'll find that out tomorrow."

"Wait wha-"

"Until then..." He pressed one last button on his phone causing a steak knife to appear and stab itself into the couch just a hair away from Neku's neck. "...try not to get yourself killed." He disappeared and Neku groaned. Getting up he looked at the knife lodged in the soft upholstery.

"Dang it, Joshua. How the heck am I supposed to explain this to my mother?" She already thought he was emo enough, this would only push her to think he had a random homicidal impulse or something. And really, those seemed to be more Josh's thing. As for his father... he probably wouldn't notice.

As Shiki was heading home she got a text from Eri asking where she was and how she was doing. She just sighed. Of course, she should've known she couldn't trust her hope that Beat wouldn't go tell her about what happened. And naturally she'd start coming up with rumors and gossip right away and start questioning her on it. She debated on letting her in on it, but then changed her mind because she would find out tomorrow anyway.

_**I'm fine. Gonna head home.**_

_**Where were u with Neku? **_She froze. She would feel bad if she lied but it would be worse if she told the truth now. She was thinking through every response she could give as quickly as possible because if she didn't answer soon then Eri would know something was up.

_**I tried 2 talk 2 him but he wanted 2 b left alone. & no nothing happened.**_

_**Oh.** _Oh? What was that supposed to mean? Was it a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh'? Shiki was going to ask her why that was all she said when she sent a text saying she had to go. Now she was a little worried. Did the sudden end to their conversation mean that another about her and Neku was starting between her, Beat, Rhyme, Mr. H and maybe even Joshua? Okay so maybe thinking that Joshua and Mr. H would include themselves in gossip like that was getting a little carried away. Still, she imagined all of them in Eri's room sitting in a circle talking about how Neku would probably propose to her or something like that and giggling madly. It was a funny sight, or would've been if it was actually happening. Maybe she was just worrying too much. Her parents could've called her or something.

"I'm sure it's no big deal. There's nothing to worry about anyway. We're gonna tell them tomorrow so I guess it doesn't really matter if they did find out now." She walked on trying to shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Little did she know that that something had just left Neku's apartment.

The next morning Shiki woke up fairly early and after going through her morning routines she called Neku. "Hello?" He sounded like he had just woken up, which he probably had.

"Neku, it's me. Are you just waking up? It's only ten."

"Yeah I know. I was just hoping to avoid this for a little longer." He yawned. "I'll get ready. In the meantime I guess you should round up everyone so we can get it over with. I'll call you when I'm done and you can tell me where to meet up with you guys."

"Okay." She hung up and sighed. She still had a feeling of dread from yesterday. Still, the others had to find out sometime and it would just be best to tell them now instead of later. Telling herself that everything would be fine she started with Rhyme, the most level-headed one. "Hey Rhyme," she greeted once the younger answered.

"Oh, hey Shiki. You're up too?"

"Yeah. No need to be so surprised. It's not that early."

"Yeah, but you know Beat. He'll sleep till New Year's if I don't wake him up." She giggled.

"Well, could you wake him up now? Neku and I have to tell you guys something and we wanted to do it as soon as possible."

"Okay. It's a good thing you called now. The early bird gets the worm, you know?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna call Eri while you try to wake Beat up. Where do you wanna meet up? I was thinking WildKat."

"That'll work. See you there." Rhyme hung up and Shiki dialed Eri's number next.

"Hey Eri-"

"Oh my gosh! I was just about to call you, Shiki. Guess what! Ten Four is having this HUGE sale on everything in the store!" Eri's excitement spread through the phone and Shiki temporarily forgot what she actually called for.

"Seriously?! Everything?" It was safe to say that she was mildly shocked. 104 had sales often but a sale on everything was the deal of a lifetime. She just couldn't pass this up.

"Yes! We _have _to go right now before everything's picked through!"

"O-okay, okay. How about everyone meets up there? Neku and I-"

"Neku and you? I already know where this is going, but okay. You guys can totally tell us while we're shopping." She giggled a bit.

"Um... sure. I'll meet you there." She hung up and left Shiki to tell the others. "Is it really that obvious?" she asked herself. Sighing and shaking her head she called Rhyme back and told her the news before finally calling Neku.

"Hey Shiki. I'm all set so where did you wanna meet?"

"Well... I originally made it WildKat, but Eri said Ten Four was having this awesome sale on everything in the store so..."

"We're meeting up there?"

"Uh, yeah. You don't mind, do you?"

"No. It's cool." On the inside he banged his face on the wall and sighed longer than humanly possible. _"This is going to take all day. We'll never get this done," _he thought to himself. He should be used to Shiki and her shopping by now, though.

"Okay then. I'll see you there. And I promise I won't be too long." She hung up and he headed out the door. He absentmindedly wondered how Joshua could possibly make this day a disaster. He was hoping that he would go back on his word but he probably wouldn't. He's only ever done that once and it wasn't exactly the best time of Neku's life.

Once he reached the Scramble Crossing he practically had to fight his way through all the crowds just reach 104. When he did reach a small opening he could barely make out the others' heads just a few feet away. Beat's skull beanie made a pretty good way point. "There you are! What took you so long?" Shiki walked over to him as soon as he appeared.

"Do you have any idea how thick these crowds are? It looks like most of Shibuya is here."

"I know, yo. So you'd better have darn good reason for makin' me come all the way out here for some shopping." If looks could kill, Neku would be dead a third time.

"You can tell us while we're in there. Right now Shiki, Rhyme and I have some serious buying to do."

"What? Wait!" Eri had already grabbed Rhyme's arm and started dragging her into the packed building while Shiki followed close behind. Beat and Neku exchanged a look of suffering before slowly making their way inside too. They stood out of the way of the other shoppers as Shiki and Eri went through every rack and shelf they could find trying on things and making Rhyme do the same.

"Yo Phones." Since the two girls obviously weren't going to be done anytime soon Beat decided to try and make conversation. After receiving a bored 'hm' he continued. "What'chu an' Shiki gotta say that's so importance?"

"Important. Well... I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you now. Shiki and I... are dating." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. Beat instantly started laughing.

"Oh man, don't tell me this has somethin' to do with whistling. H-hey, did ya give her lessons?"

"Shut up." Neku's face was red with embarrassment while Beat's was red with laughter. Eventually he calmed down and that was when the worst happened.

"Attention all shoppers," a voice said over the intercom. "I've got a special announcement to make." Neku swore under his breath. That voice could only belong to one person. And that person just couldn't give him a break.

"Yo man... is that-"

"Of course it is." Neku buried his head into his collar hoping to turn invisible.

"If you would kindly direct your attention to the emo kid in the corner trying to sink into his own clothing." Right after he said that everyone in the store looked at him. Beat took a few steps to the side so he wouldn't be caught up in anything. "There's something very special about this kid other than his mental state." Neku could hear the smirk in Joshua's voice.

_"Oh no. If he does what I think he's doing I'll kill him."_

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**A/N: Cliffhanger I know. Hopefully I'll be able to update it soon. Anyway I hope you're enjoying the story.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Long wait, I know. It's been stressful at school but at least I can finally update this. I'll have to work on the other two stories next.**

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_"Please don't do this. I can't believe I'm begging but please..." _These were Neku's thoughts as multiple pairs of eyes focused on him. Four pairs belonged to his confused friends as they whispered all the possible reasons why Joshua would be singling him out over the loudspeaker.

"This boy has a special secret. And it involves one of his closest _friends." _At this Eri started giggling and tried to hide it with her hands. Beat laughed out loud for a second before covering his mouth with both hands, although his frame was still shaking with laughter. Shiki and Neku, however, did not find it funny at all. They sent each other worried looks before blushing and trying to hide their faces in embarrassment.

"Congratulations, Neku Sakuraba, on your first girlfriend! And since I'm sure most of you here don't know who she is, it's Shiki Misaki or the girl standing right over there next to her fashionable friend." All of a sudden confetti rained down on them and everyone started clapping and cheering.

Beat, who couldn't last another second, burst out into wild laughter. "Pffft! Bwa ha ha ha ha!" If Neku had the chance to whack either Beat or Joshua upside the head and get away with it he honestly wasn't sure which would get it right now. The embarrassed teen made his to the door with Shiki right behind him. She had tasked Eri with getting her stuff after giving her some money.

"Hold up, you two. You're forgetting your complementary T-Shirts." There was Joshua, right behind them, with two shirts for each of them. They read "Boyfriend" and "Girlfriend" respectively. As for what the violet-eyed teen's face read, it was something along the lines of "What now, sucka?" even though he'd never actually say that. Neku shot a soul-withering glare at him before turning around and storming out of the store and into the crowded streets. Even Shiki, who was the second friendliest of the bunch, gave Josh a dirty look before trailing after her boyfriend. Joshua shrugged before smirking.

Shiki caught up with Neku quickly and the two of them walked side by side in the direction of the Statue of Hachiko. "Shiki... I'm so sorry about that. I didn't know he'd-"

"Don't worry about it. You don't need to beat yourself up over it." She gave him a quick side hug and a kind smile. He sounded so insecure and it worried her. He'd never really sounded like that before.

"It's not so much that. It's just the fact that he went that far. That prissy little-"

"Okay, Neku. Calm down." They sat down on the bench since the area was mostly empty other than a few passerby. Probably because of the sale.

"Don't tell me you're not embarrassed."

"Of course! That had to be, like, the worst moment of my life. Well, second worst 'cause... you know." She looked down.

"Yeah... But," Neku took her hand in his, "could you really consider it all that bad?" She looked at him and they both smiled.

"No. It wasn't all bad, I guess. Except for your headphones." She playfully poked his side.

"Hey, you'd better watch it. They might try to pork chop you if you're not careful. Like your pig."

"He's a cat!" Shiki leaned into him and they both fell silent; content smiles on their faces. Their moment would not last, however, as Beat, Eri, and Rhyme came walking up. They couldn't move fast enough to avoid being spotted in their position by Beat, who instantly started joking.

"Uh oh, yo. Was we interpreting something lovebirds?"

"Interrupting, Beat," Rhyme corrected as she stopped next to him. "You guys, what was that about? Why did Joshua do that?"

"And how? I mean, how's one weird kid get an entire store to do that? I wonder if he paid them." The others just shrugged with slightly sheepish grins. Eri was the only one who didn't actually _know _Joshua even though she thought she did. They've met numerous times-okay so, like, three-but each time he surprisingly told her a lot about himself (which Neku found unusual and extremely unnerving-Shiki insisted he was jealous that they hit it off better than he did-but never really said anything.) Of course, he kept the Composer part and being dead to himself, though.

"I have no. Freaking. Idea," Neku sighed in exasperation. He had the impression that perhaps Joshua really was preparing today to be the worst for him when he was fiddling with his phone. Maybe he used his powers on everyone. He could've just imprinted on them all, right? Everyone could see how frustrated and annoyed Neku was, and who could blame him? Shiki was pretty sure he'd try to murder Joshua the first chance he got.

"Well, let's not dwell on it, okay?" Shiki clapped her hands together and stood up. "C'mon, Neku," she said, nudging him. "Cheer up. It's all over now isn't it? No reason to keep thinking about it. Even if it was... a little embarrassing..." She stopped once she saw his face. He was in very deep thought.

"Hey, Phones? 'Sup with you?" Beat came over and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"I'm gonna make him pay." Neku stood up and clenched his fists.

"Wha-Neku! You can't be serious. You're going to start a prank war with _Joshua_? Are you crazy?" Shiki and the others were shocked. Beat's face was unreadable, Eri was just silent, and Rhyme didn't even have an adage for that.

"It's not a war. It's _revenge._" The evil smirk on his face worried the others.

"But... won't that start something between you two? After all, it _is _Joshua. And I think we all know how he doesn't like to lose."

"Yeah. Rhyme's right, yo. You gotta have a death wish to piss off Miss Priss." Neku would've laughed at Beat's inventive, and accurate, new nickname if he wasn't so serious about his revenge.

"Neku, please don't do that. You know how Joshua is and we all know how you two... 'get along'. Think about the consequences this could have if he got really angry. Don't do this, please, for me." Shiki gave him the puppy dog eyes and Neku, despite all his willpower, could not say no.

"Alright, alright. I won't do it." Everyone smiled in relief at his choice.

"A wise decision, Neku." The group turned to see the topic of the conversation standing before them.

"Not you."

"Oh come on. Is that what I get in return for my kind favor?" he asked in fake innocence.

"Oh of course not, Josh. You'll get something much nicer in return," Neku sneered. Joshua merely quirked a brow.

"Is that a threat, Neku, dear?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock that off?! I-"

"Neku! Joshua! Enough!" Shiki's scream made everyone freeze, including the few people heading through there. Seeing this, she lowered her voice. "I get you're mad, Neku, but what is this going to solve? And Joshua, why do you always feel the need to egg people on? Aren't you guys friends?"

"Um, no. Especially not after that stunt he pulled. But I won't start something because I know you're planning something, Joshua. I don't know what you're up to and I don't wanna find out." Neku stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave the other boy a look that dared him to try something. Joshua pouted-yes, pouted-before quickly switching to a frown.

"I don't know why you always assume I'm up to something. I'm not all bad, you know," he said while brushing some hair out of his face. If Neku didn't know any better he would've said that Joshua was offended by that. However, he did know better than that and that's what prompted his response.

"Well, truth hurts." Once he said that the place felt like a battleground. Joshua and Neku were staring each other down and the tension was so thick one could grab it.

"You don't get it, do you?" He folded his arms.

"Get what? Are you thinking of trying something a third time?" Neku copied Joshua's pose.

"Uhhh... Shiki, what's he talking about?" Eri whispered so she wouldn't attract the boys' attention.

"N-nothing. Just something stupid." She sighed. Nothing was working out the way she had hoped. She could take being teased by her friends because, well, they're friends, and that happens from time to time. But Joshua was taking things a bit too far. All she wanted was her and Neku's relationship to go well. And maybe, just maybe, a few more lessons in whistling. Although that would NEVER be admitted to anyone except Neku.

"What is it I'm apparently not getting?"

"Neku, Neku, Neku. I'm not doing this for fun. Well, actually I am," he said with a smirk. "But when I decide to do something it gets done. So if I decide to make you miserable then you'll be miserable."

"You know what? Forget it. Come on, guys, we're leaving. I'm not gonna let an entire day be ruined by him." Neku stalked past the Composer and was about to make his way through the Scramble Crossing when he was stopped.

"Running away from your problems won't solve them, you know. You know exactly why I'm doing this. Why don't you just get over yourself and admit your mistake?" Neku instantly whipped around.

"Get over myself?! You're the one who needs to get over himself! You think that just because you're the C-um, who you are you can just tell everyone what to do and how to do it?" If there was a picture to describe rage then Neku's face would be perfect. His fists were tightly clenched and his face was actually a little red with anger.

"Actually yes, I do. Do I have to remind you?" Joshua's tone held a dangerous edge. Seeing enough, the others finally decided to step in.

"Yo, yo, yo. Enough of all this fightin'. Prissy kid, stop gettin' on Phones's nerves cuz you're gettin' on mine too. And Phones, stop it with all the yelling. Imma bust both your heads if you don't." Beat had stepped in between the two despite the fact that neither of them had made a move towards each other. Joshua turned his attention towards the older Bito.

"Calm down, Daisukenojo. There's no need to resort to violence," Joshua calmly stated.

"Why you-"

"Beat please! All of you stop it." Rhyme paused to regain herself. "We don't need to fight like this. A house divided cannot stand. All we'll accomplish by arguing are ruined friendships." Neku and Beat looked guiltily at Rhyme and knew they were wrong to upset her. Joshua, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to get Neku into his trap, made his final move.

"Listen to her, Neku. Listening to the girls' advice is the only thing you've been capable of doing so far."

"That's it! You're gonna pay, Joshua. I'll make sure of it." Shiki might as well have face palmed. Of course Joshua would figure out someway to bait Neku into this. She should've known that her words wouldn't change anything. Sighing, she grabbed Neku's arm and led him away. Rhyme and Beat followed, and so did Eri after she gave Joshua a curious look. The ashen-haired teen just stood there smugly.

The five of them were walking through the streets of Shibuya in an awkward silence. Eventually Eri decided to break it. "So... Did you guys see all the awesome stuff Shiki, Rhyme, and I got in there? I mean, look at all this stuff!" She lifted the tons of bags in her arms and everyone seemed to notice for the first time.

"Dang, yo. Did you buy half the store?" Beat, surprisingly, took a few of the bags to make it easier on her.

"No but we could have. If it wasn't for Joshua, that is." Neku groaned at hearing the name. Shiki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey c'mon, Neku. Are you really going to get revenge on Joshua like this?"

"Heck yeah."

"And just what are you gonna do, man? It's prissy boy. He can mop the floor with you."

"How can he do anything to Neku? He's so scrawny." If only Eri knew just how much damage he could do.

"I'll figure out something," he muttered.

"You and Shiki were going to tell us about your relationship then, weren't you?" Rhyme already knew this, everyone did, but she asked anyway.

"Yeah..." Neku's face reddened a little.

"It could've gone so much better." Shiki rubbed her arm out of nervousness.

"I just got one question for you two."

"What, Beat?" Neku sighed.

"Does Shiki know how to whistle or what?" Beat had only a moment to laugh before the headphone-wearing boy chased after him. Not like he had to worry, he was way stronger. The girls just shook their heads at them while bystanders looked bewildered.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I don't know when I'll be able to get the next one up though. But I'll try.  
**


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